Hello, I am a pro photographer with a well-reviewed travel book. I was flying today in Montana, shooting winter scenes for the promo video for my new book (I live in New Orleans and went to great expense to get to this location to shoot)  I had flown successfully about 10 minutes before and drove to a new spot. Everything went as normal...I had GPS, and ascended up to about 350 feet. I flew out over trees, and shot video, then turned the Spark around and had it fly back to me. Somewhere along the way, it lost GPS, switched to atti mode, then I started getting error messages:  “working IMU encounters heading exception” and “warning:  compass error, exit P-GPS mode”. The Spark then started to fly forward on its own. The last images I saw on my screen was of the Spark approaching a tree, then I lost the connection and it was never seen again. Incredibly frustrating , mostly because I lost all of the footage I had shot, and now will have to schedule another full trip back to shoot these images with a new drone. Also frustrating that I spent the extra $69 to have the DJI Refresh insurance, but can’t use it since the drone is lost.  This REALLY seems like a malfunctioning drone, and I would like a replacement. Is there anything I can do to get this taken care of?

The "working IMU encounters heading exception" message is something commonly seen when the compass is being negatively affected by a nearby magnetic metallic object. Where did you power on the Spark and take off from? Were there any metal objects near it?

You might be able to track down your Spark by using the data in the TXT flight log. You can upload and view it online here. If you'd like other people to review and comment on your flight log, then please post a link back here after you upload it.

The issue started happening while us was 360 feet in the air, with a road below, but nothing else but trees around, far from anything metal.

It looks like it crashed near where you were.. Upload your flight logs to the link above and very smart people on this board will help you find it.   BTW.. I live in New Orleans as well and have a spark.

That would be great, but I was on my way to the airport when this happened. Just boarded my flight. No way to spend time searching in a forest. Such a bummer. Maybe there’s someone who lives in Big Sky or Bozeman who likes to track these things down?

mountainpics11 Posted at 2018-4-13 11:16
That would be great, but I was on my way to the airport when this happened. Just boarded my flight. No way to spend time searching in a forest. Such a bummer. Maybe there’s someone who lives in Big Sky or Bozeman who likes to track these things down?

I think we would all like to try to learn from your experience.  Also, maybe someone in the area can help find it.  As msinger suggested, please upload your FlightRecord log to the PhantomHelp log viewer and then post the resulting URL here.  Maybe someone here can help identify what happened.

Also, I would suggest opening a ticket with DJI support (dji.com/support).  They will review your logs and depending upon what they find may or may not provide a warranty replacement.

Yes.. if you are traveling you will have to wait until you get to a computer to pull the log file off of your phone.. but it would be interesting to take a look at it in any case... who knows, you might be lucky enough to have someone go find it for you and send it back home...    funny for someone from N.O. to have the handle mountainpics :-)  

Yes, LouisP, I shoot a lot of of adventure travel imagery.  Been to Mount Everest twice. I will upload whatever I can once I get to WiFi. Plane to Dallas diverted to Abilene due to major Thunderstorm. Quite a Friday the 13th

What was the pilot doing while the drone was flying forward uncontrolled?  Hitting RTH repeatedly?  I would hire a new pilot if he let the drone fly away into trees while in ATTI.  He should have worked the sticks, flew around the trees, and landed it at your feet.

Like this guy whose drone is also in ATTI and RATE modes with GPS-P turned off:

I am the pilot. I saw it heading towards trees despite me giving no input. I moved it to above me (according to the map on the app...I could not hear it), so it should have been far from the trees, but it suddenly began moving forward without my input and I got the error messages. It was not pilot error. It lost compass and GPS and flew itself into the forest. I couldn’t believe it.

mountainpics11 Posted at 2018-4-13 17:33
I am the pilot. I saw it heading towards trees despite me giving no input. I moved it to above me (according to the map on the app...I could not hear it), so it should have been far from the trees, but it suddenly began moving forward without my input and I got the error messages. It was not pilot error. It lost compass and GPS and flew itself into the forest. I couldn’t believe it.

It is pilot error as no drone will hover in one spot while in ATTI mode.  Without GPS, you have to work the sticks to keep it in one place in the air.  The drone did exactly what any drone or aircraft will do without GPS stabilization.  They fly away and crash while crying out for pilot to work the sticks.

You might have a case that the U.S. military's GPS let you down and the government owes you a new drone.

Thanks for your constructive assistance, Gunship

mountainpics11 Posted at 2018-4-13 18:15
Thanks for your constructive assistance, Gunship

Thanks for your sense of humor about it.  My ability to irritate comes from DPreview battles  

I know some people in the Big Sky area, if you seen it fly right into a tree the flight logs in your phone should give a perfect GPS location to it.  I have begun to learn that even when it tells us that it lost GPS and compass it doesn't actually mean that the drone itself lost the ability to track itself, just that it doesn't have the ability to hold a position and hover based on GPS data.  That is why it drifted forward without stick input from you. It will be interesting to see what the flight logs say.  

Hi, I'm sorry to hear about the accident. If your drone is still under the warranty, you are recommended to contact our support to start a case for data analysis: https://www.dji.com/support. If you need any further assistance, please feel free to let us know, we'll here for help. Thanks!

If you could pin point it's crash location you might be able to post it to a nearby craigslist with a reward if shipped back. They would have no use for it if it was damaged and you would still need the broken drone to submit for DJI Refresh... correct? Just a thought. Sorry about your drone.

PS: If you don't get it replaced for free, would you buy a Spark again, or would you go with a different drone? Just wondering how loyal people are to their Sparks.

Here is the flight record:  http://www.phantomhelp.com/logviewer/SJR4PCZPNULTN2KG9R88/. Any help would be appreciated

looks like it came to within 50 feet of the home point, and then just started flying southeast on its own, and ended up almost 1000 feet away from home, farther than I had flown it out towards the northwest in the first place

The Bash's Posted at 2018-4-14 00:52
I know some people in the Big Sky area, if you seen it fly right into a tree the flight logs in your phone should give a perfect GPS location to it.  I have begun to learn that even when it tells us that it lost GPS and compass it doesn't actually mean that the drone itself lost the ability to track itself, just that it doesn't have the ability to hold a position and hover based on GPS data.  That is why it drifted forward without stick input from you. It will be interesting to see what the flight logs say.

flight logs. http://www.phantomhelp.com/logviewer/SJR4PCZPNULTN2KG9R88/

DJI Diana Posted at 2018-4-14 01:24
Hi, I'm sorry to hear about the accident. If your drone is still under the warranty, you are recommended to contact our support to start a case for data analysis: https://www.dji.com/support. If you need any further assistance, please feel free to let us know, we'll here for help. Thanks!

Thanks, Diana.  I sent an email and received an email stating it was support ticket # 1085804

So those logs show that it went a lot farther than crashing roughly where you took off from.  Unfortunately starting at the grid 45.384500, -111.190166 that it showed the last reading isn't going to yield many results unless you get lucky and those trees there stretch up 314' above where you took off from.    The AC was still flying at 5MPH, but you said you seen on the screen that it flew into a tree?  

The Bash's Posted at 2018-4-14 18:57
So those logs show that it went a lot farther than crashing roughly where you took off from.  Unfortunately starting at the grid 45.384500, -111.190166 that it showed the last reading isn't going to yield many results unless you get lucky and those trees there stretch up 314' above where you took off from.    The AC was still flying at 5MPH, but you said you seen on the screen that it flew into a tree?

Yeah, the last images on the screen were of the Spark flying into a tree

The Bash's Posted at 2018-4-14 18:57
So those logs show that it went a lot farther than crashing roughly where you took off from.  Unfortunately starting at the grid 45.384500, -111.190166 that it showed the last reading isn't going to yield many results unless you get lucky and those trees there stretch up 314' above where you took off from.    The AC was still flying at 5MPH, but you said you seen on the screen that it flew into a tree?

Looking at the terrain he was flying in, it looks like it is a hilly/mountain region, so there are big elevation changes.  So running into a tree at over 300' above the takeoff point is fairly realistic in this case.  

Looking at the log files, I think the we can very likely see the tree impact at the 3m 58s to 3m 59s mark.  At this point in time, the VPS altitude sensors go from not registering any values (meaning it was likely >30ft above something)  to suddenly registering values from 2ft down to 0ft.  We can also see some sudden and violent changes in Pitch/Roll/Yaw at this point.  It looks like it may have stabilized itself for a couple of seconds and then I think it likely hit something again in the last couple seconds of the log before it loses connection because we see the Pitch/Roll/Yaw values swinging wildly again in the last few entries.  

I wouldn't be surprised if the aircraft isn't either in a tree or on the ground very near to the final GPS coordinates from the logs.  45.38449183        -111.191434

However, it looks like it would be some pretty tough terrain to find a little bitty drone.

I know it doesn't help to recover any lost footage, but I definitely would recommend opening a ticket with DJI if you haven't already to see if you might be able to get a replacement under warranty.

One recommendation I would make for anybody when their aircraft goes into ATTI mode is to try to fly it home (or to an alternate safe landing area) ASAP.  I noticed at the 0m 27s point that the aircraft went into ATTI mode for a few seconds.  At this point, I would recommend bringing the aircraft home immediately to check it out rather than continuing with the flight.  Also, once it goes into ATTI mode, the pilot needs to try to take control of the aircraft.  I know when it happens, it can seem like the pilot doesn't have control, but we almost always can see in the logs that inputs to the sticks results in appropriate movements associated with those stick movements.  I've been there before and I know it can seem like there is no control by the pilot, but its the best course of action to try to save the aircraft.

mountainpics11, I wish you the best of luck in getting back up and flying very soon!  

mountainpics11 Posted at 2018-4-15 11:19
Yeah, the last images on the screen were of the Spark flying into a tree[view_image]

i think the malfunction might have happened due to heavy mist in the air at that height.

S.J Posted at 2018-4-16 11:24
i think the malfunction might have happened due to heavy mist in the air at that height.

It was actually clear at the time of flight...I didn't see any mist.  I suppose there could have been some that I didn't see.  How would clouds/mist adversely affect the operation of the drone?

I thought the data record shows it was in ATTI mode during the last part of the flight and momentarily in the early phase of the flight.  Weather doesn't do that.  Changing magnetic fields do that or loss of GPS.  A magnetic field producing device by launch point (iWatch, fitbit, car, magnetized tripod), or one out in the trees (power line/transformers/oil pipe) does that.  The Phantom 4 Advance was on sale for $800ish and has dual compasses to help beat the effects of magnetized items.  

I put it out on Facebook to those I know over in the Big Sky area, what color is the Spark, that might help them find it.  Hopefully it fell all the way down instead of getting caught in the tree.  

The Bash's Posted at 2018-4-16 18:38
I put it out on Facebook to those I know over in the Big Sky area, what color is the Spark, that might help them find it.  Hopefully it fell all the way down instead of getting caught in the tree.

Thanks The Bash!

KlooGee Posted at 2018-4-16 10:36
Looking at the terrain he was flying in, it looks like it is a hilly/mountain region, so there are big elevation changes.  So running into a tree at over 300' above the takeoff point is fairly realistic in this case.  

Looking at the log files, I think the we can very likely see the tree impact at the 3m 58s to 3m 59s mark.  At this point in time, the VPS altitude sensors go from not registering any values (meaning it was likely >30ft above something)  to suddenly registering values from 2ft down to 0ft.  We can also see some sudden and violent changes in Pitch/Roll/Yaw at this point.  It looks like it may have stabilized itself for a couple of seconds and then I think it likely hit something again in the last couple seconds of the log before it loses connection because we see the Pitch/Roll/Yaw values swinging wildly again in the last few entries.  

Thanks for the kind words, KlooGee

Gunship9 Posted at 2018-4-13 18:12
It is pilot error as no drone will hover in one spot while in ATTI mode.  Without GPS, you have to work the sticks to keep it in one place in the air.  The drone did exactly what any drone or aircraft will do without GPS stabilization.  They fly away and crash while crying out for pilot to work the sticks.

You might have a case that the U.S. military's GPS let you down and the government owes you a new drone.

I guess you were incorrect, Gunship9.  I got an email this morning from DJI support.  After they looked at my data, they determined it to be a warranty issue, not pilot error (and I fully agree...as far as I know, drones don't fly backwards at 19mph away from their home point unless there's something wrong with the drone):  

mountainpics11 Posted at 2018-4-17 09:07
I guess you were incorrect, Gunship9.  I got an email this morning from DJI support.  After they looked at my data, they determined it to be a warranty issue, not pilot error (and I fully agree...as far as I know, drones don't fly backwards at 19mph away from their home point unless there's something wrong with the drone):  [view_image]

Is that true?  A drone in ATTI mode (which your drone was in ATTI mode) won't fly away from their home point at 19mph?  That will solve a lot of flyaways by just hitting return to home button when the drone has compass faults, looses GPS, and drops into ATTI mode.  I think you know nothing about drones.

You may be getting a replacement drone, not because it flew away, but because the compass failed in a way that DJI recognizes as an internal fault.  Or they are replacing it for public relations reasons when dealing with a professional photographer that is licensed(?) as required by the FAA to make money on drone photos.  Replacement even though you are at fault.  

A radio control model pilot (even unlicensed) would have landed that drone at their feet in ATTI mode and not let it fly away.  A pro photographer just adds another hazard to the nation's airspace one replacement drone at a time.

Gunship9 Posted at 2018-4-17 10:03
Is that true?  A drone in ATTI mode (which your drone was in ATTI mode) won't fly away from their home point at 19mph?  That will solve a lot of flyaways by just hitting return to home button when the drone has compass faults, looses GPS, and drops into ATTI mode.  I think you know nothing about drones.

You may be getting a replacement drone, not because it flew away, but because the compass failed in a way that DJI recognizes as an internal fault.  Or they are replacing it for public relations reasons when dealing with a professional photographer that is licensed(?) as required by the FAA to make money on drone photos.  Replacement even though you are at fault.  

Just wanted to update the situation.  Again, thanks for the kind support.  

I am glad that they are going to warranty replace your Spark.  The mention of a snipe hunt in the woods for a drone didn't get the attention I was hoping for.  I would love the challenge to hunt for a missing drone.  I'll let you know if someone bites.